Pontus Marine LTD- Leader of fishing industry in Somaliland

September 15, 2015

Following is the text of the speech of Somaliland president on the occasion of the 8th High Level Aid Coordination in Somaliland:

(Medeshi) -Hargeisa , Sept 15, 2015 - You Excellencies and Ambassadors, Honorable ministers, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to extend a warm welcome to all of you who have traveled to Hargeisa today.

I am delighted to welcome you to the 8th High Level Aid coordination.

On behalf of the Somaliland Government and people, I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the development partners for their generous assistance to Somaliland over the years. We value the role you play in Somaliland in assisting us to bring about prosperity and opportunity for our people and we also value the positive role you continue to play in supporting efforts to bring stability and development to the wider horn of Africa Region.

We are very happy with the progress we have made through the high level Aid coordination forum process in the past and we hope this year will provide us with an opportunity to make further progress on a number of areas of development cooperation.

It is a testament to the success and value of the high level Aid coordination forum that so many delegates have made the journey here today. The forum represents an invaluable opportunity for Somalilanders and their international partners to work together ensure progress is made towards our shares developments.

Somaliland works as a state because it has built its own internal peace from the bottom up for almost 25 years, and has inclusive, democratic institutions based on universal suffrage. In keeping with that proud tradition of peaceful resolution I am pleased to report that the constitutional court has now firmly resolved the recent electoral delay issue in an inclusive, consensual and transparent manner to the satisfaction of all relevant stakeholders.

Our peace was brought about by locally-driven bottom-up solutions, and our development successes are the fruit of self-reliance and solidarity. These firm foundations have created an environment where government, civil society and international partners can work together in close cooperation to ensure development programmers can be Implemented in a successful and effective manner. The international community and the people of Somaliland have a long tradition of working successfully together, and Somaliland has shown itself to be a responsible partner in the Horn of Africa actively collaborating with international efforts in the fight against terrorism, extremism and piracy.

Our engagement with international partners through the Somaliland special Arrangement ensures that Somaliland’s development is Somaliland-owned and focuses on the needs and priorities of Somaliland. It strengthens the way we work together and guarantees national leadership and accountability as well as a strong spirit of cooperation and coordination.
I Look forward to the important discussions which will take place today to adapt the way development assistance is currently delivered to Somaliland to ensure the best possible outcomes for the people of Somaliland. I would like to end by assuring our partners that Somaliland’s commitment to regional peace and security remains as strong as ever. I would finally like to take this opportunity to thank the organizing team of the forum for the tremendous efforts they have made to ensure that this event is a success.